Game of Thrones Fans Should be "Fired Up" After Season Six, Episode Four

By DANIELLE SANTOLA

May 16, 2016 at 8:55 PM

A long-awaited reunion, a renewed alliance between two houses and the conquering of yet another ancient city assuaged any doubt I had that Season Six of “Game of Thrones” would be the most dramatic season in years.

Theon gave up his claim to the “Salt Throne” in order to make amends with his sister and earn a place at her side; Rickon Stark lost his only remaining protector to the brutality of Ramsay Bolton; Littlefinger recruited the Knights of the Vale to aid Sansa in her quest to take back the North, though he may have created an enemy in the process; and Daenerys had a moment so badass that even Daario Naharis was impressed.

Someone finally pointed Sansa in the right direction—for now. Once I was able to wipe my tears from the heart-wrenching Stark reunion, I realized that Jon and Sansa could be marching right into a trap. Roles were reversed when Sansa insisted on taking back Winterfell and all Jon wanted to do was hide, but she seems to have convinced him to join her. The problem is, if we’re to believe that the Umbers and the Karstarks have really turned against the Starks—and are not planning to ambush Ramsay Bolton as many fans, including myself, have previously predicted—then Sansa is overestimating how many friends she and Jon have in the North. If she calls on her father’s bannermen for help, all she’ll be doing is warning Ramsay of her intentions.

Brienne’s loyalty is immeasurable and Littlefinger is her polar opposite. Prior to Sunday’s episode, the recap showed Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish pledging his undying loyalty to the crown, but now he’s convinced Robin Arryn and the Knights of the Vale to march to Sansa’s aid at the Wall. (Which would certainly not be in “the crown’s” best interest.) It seems to me like Baelish knew that things would go awry at Winterfell and always intended to unite his stepson’s armies against the Boltons. There’s no question that Sansa and Jon need the numbers if they intend to march on Winterfell, but Littlefinger must have another convenient lie up his sleeve if he wants Sansa to ever trust him again. On the other hand, there was not a single shred of shame behind Brienne’s announcement that she executed Stannis in Renly’s name, which leads me to believe she’d do the same for any of the Starks if need be. Let’s just hope she doesn’t need to.

Cersei and Tyrion are cut from the same cloth after all. Unlike Tyrion’s new allies, his siblings and the Tyrells understand that sometimes it’s necessary to work with your rivals to get what you want—even if it means going behind the king’s back to do so. Margaery has remained at least strong enough to recite the stories that are read to her inside her cell but clearly the same cannot be said for Loras. There’s a good chance he’s already told his captors that he doesn’t care about the future of his house, so it’s probably only a matter of time before he confesses his crimes. At this point, only days before Cersei’s trial and Margaery’s atonement, the only way to overpower the High Sparrow is for the Tyrell and Lannister armies to unite against him. Cersei is finally abandoning her pride by collaborating with the Tyrells, knowing full well that it will not only free the queen and her beloved brother, but will simultaneously appease her last living child and also achieve her revenge.

Making peace with Daenerys’ enemies only made more enemies for Tyrion. Tyrion understands politics better than anyone on Daenerys’ council, but Slaver’s Bay is not Westeros—the masters and the slaves will never be friends. Despite the fact that Varys should have been there to defend Tyrion’s input on the subject, Grey Worm and Missandei were not necessarily wrong to question his strategies. Tyrion is still new to the fold and although Dany trusted him to a certain extent, she might not be pleased with this turn of events. More than likely, Tyrion’s peace-making tactics are wiser than Dany’s conquering ones, but how long will Grey Worm and Missandei support him? More importantly, how long until the freed slaves lose respect for their Commander, Grey Worm? Tyrion could be making peace at Grey Worm’s expense.

Daenerys added yet another title to her name. There isn’t really much to say about Dany’s escape from the clutches of the Dothraki other than that she’s obviously the man, for lack of a better phrase. There’s a chance that she made a mistake by disrespecting her husband’s people and their sacred traditions, but the truth is that the Dothraki men disrespected her first and the 100,000 Dothraki bearing witness didn’t seem to mind all that much when they knelt at her feet. If one tradition holds true, the man who defeats a Khal then becomes the new Khal—and Dany defeated all of them in one fell swoop, essentially making her the Queen of the Dothraki. Despite what I predicted in previous recaps, Dany didn’t need her dragons to escape. All she needed was to hear the devastating stories of the other widows to “wake the dragon” we know is inside her. Meanwhile, the fact remains that Tyrion did release her dragons from captivity and considering that it takes months to film the dragon scenes, I have to believe that something big is still on the horizon.

I’m confident after Episode Four that chaos lies ahead in Season Six. Dany echoed the end of Season Two by stepping out of the flames and into the arms of 100,000 new followers—and fierce ones at that. All hell is about to break loose in King’s Landing as long as Loras can hold it together long enough for the two richest families in Westeros to unite against the Sparrows. And sooner or later, Ser Davos is going to discover the fate of Shireen Baratheon.

Jon and Sansa have never been friends and now they are hell-bent on staying together. I just hope it lasts because Jon’s been murdered once already for doing the right thing and I’m not sure his fans could handle a loss like that again. Meanwhile, we all know that the real fight is north of the Wall. We haven’t seen too much of Bran this season, but I can only assume that means his storyline is about to pick up.

The opinions expressed herein are the writer's alone, and do not reflect the opinions of TAPinto.net or anyone who works for TAPinto.net. TAPinto.net is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the writer.

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